Officially
by lookingforthestars
Summary: Of course he's not Ralph's father. But it still hurts to hear Ralph say it.


**If you're anything like me, you've been starving for more Walter/Ralph/Paige family scenes. The show is holding out on us a little, but what is fan fic for, right?**

"Have you spoken to your mom about this?"

Ralph gave him a strange look. "Of course not. That's why I'm telling you first. So you can back me up when we tell her together."

"Right. Uh…" Walter was woefully underprepared for this. He was touched that the young genius came to him first, but he also realized that Ralph had only done so because he presumed Walter would agree. There were certainly times that he had taken the boy's side against Paige, if he genuinely believed that something would benefit Ralph's development. But he wasn't certain this was one of those times. "I think we should talk about this together. All three of us."

Ralph rolled his eyes, shaking his backpack to allow for better weight distribution among his books. "You know she'll say I'm too young. But she listens to you about, you know, genius stuff. I just need you soften her up for me."

Sometimes Walter thought Ralph might have learned a bit too much about the human psyche from Toby. "Does the client know how old you are?"

It wasn't hard to see how excited Ralph was about this opportunity. The CEO of an investment firm had contacted him personally after seeing some of the open source code he posted one afternoon when he was bored. The young genius had done incredible work for Scorpion, of course, but this was the first job he obtained entirely on his own merits. Walter could remember the validation of receiving similar job offers after coming to the U.S.

But Paige wanted him to focus on school. And neither of them wanted to see Ralph get wrapped up in anything potentially dangerous again without Scorpion looking out for him. "They don't care about my age," Ralph deflected, albeit with a hint of guilt that made Walter certain that information was not shared. "I could do the work they want in my sleep. And I can put the money toward college."

Walter felt guilty for wishing he hadn't been Ralph's first choice. He wanted the boy to feel comfortable coming to him. He'd expressed that over and over. How could he say so and then run away to find Paige at the first sign of a difficult conversation?

"Perhaps…" He took a deep breath. "We could make this a Scorpion case and you could help."

Ralph's expression turned injured and Walter immediately knew he'd said the wrong thing. "You don't think I can do it myself?"

"No, no, of course not. You're brilliant, Ralph. That's not the issue." The genius lowered himself onto the couch, remembering something Toby once said about putting people at ease by meeting them at their level. "But you're only fourteen. Your mom still thinks it's too early for you to take on your own cases, and I'm inclined to agree."

"You were helping Homeland when you were my age," he argued.

"Yes. I was. And you know how that turned out." Walter hesitated. He hated talking about this, but he would be damned if he let Ralph make the same mistakes he did. "I was still…n-naïve then. I didn't understand how the world really worked and I've been dealing with the consequences of that ever since. I'm not saying," he interrupted when Ralph opened his mouth for a rebuttal, "that you won't make better choices. But you need more time. More experience. I'm happy to expand your role with the team if you'd like, but I can't support you branching out independently right now."

Ralph zipped his backpack more aggressively than necessary, the disappointment on his face giving Walter a deeply unpleasant feeling. "You keep telling me I'm capable of doing great things but you won't actually let me do them," he sniped, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "I thought you of all people would understand why this is important to me."

Walter cringed. He was the one person who related to Ralph the most, and he was honored by the young genius's high opinion of him. But he'd learned long ago that to truly look after Ralph, he couldn't just be his friend. "I do. Trust me, I do. But I'm trying to think of what's best for you."

"Well you're not my dad, so that's not your job." Ralph barely gave Walter time to process the words before he walked out, shouting to his mother that he would take the bus and slamming the door shut behind him.

Paige emerged a few seconds later, her wet hair plastered around her shoulders as she looked between Walter and the empty front entrance. "What just happened?"

* * *

"You should have asked me first."

"I know." His first instinct had been to follow Ralph, but Paige thought it would be better to let him cool down. When she finished drying off and getting dressed, he spilled the whole story, for once not entirely clueless about what he'd done to make the other party upset with him. "You would have handled it better."

Paige rubbed his upper arm comfortingly. "Your instincts were good. I would have agreed," she said. "He's a teenager, Walter. A very smart teenager, but that doesn't mean he won't have his rebellious moments. And the more of an authoritative role you take on with him, the more he'll push back."

"B-But I want him to be able to talk to me. We're going to be a family, and I…" He trailed off, Paige lifting her finger slightly so they could both admire the ring. It was still new enough that Walter liked the reassurance that she hadn't only said yes in his dreams. "I may never understand most people, but I understand Ralph. I should have known what to say to him."

She offered him a soft, sympathetic smile. "He wasn't trying to confide in you, Walter. He was trying to persuade you. There's a difference." She tilted her head, thinking for a moment. He loved watching her think. The first time he told her that, she'd laughed and insisted he was definitely the first man to pay her that compliment. "Did you believe what you told him? You didn't just say it because you thought I would?"

Walter shook his head. "No. Geniuses are easily taken advantage of and I don't want that to happen to Ralph. I know how dire the consequences of that can be." He leaned forward on the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and looking down. "I know you don't want him to become like me."

"Oh, Walter," she sighed, scooting closer and resting her chin on his shoulder. "You can't believe I still think that. I never thought that. I said it when I was scared and confused." Paige craned her neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I love you. And I will be thrilled if Ralph always has a heart as good as yours. I just want him to have a childhood before he starts making life-or-death decisions, you know?"

"Yeah." The genius was surprised how much her assurance meant to him. He had thought that fight was ancient history—it felt like a lifetime ago—but a small bit of that insecurity still lingered. Especially when he'd come crashing down off the pedestal Ralph put him on. "I just want to do the right thing for both of you. And I know I haven't always."

Paige made a noise that wasn't quite a word, but that Walter knew by now meant she was acknowledging what he said. "There have been times that I've failed Ralph. Times I failed you," she admitted. "But we're trying, Walter. You try so hard and you make us so happy. Please don't think that's not enough."

Walter swallowed, his mouth feeling oddly dry. "Ralph isn't very happy with me right now."

"Ralph will be fine. He was lashing out. He didn't mean those things." She squeezed his arm, waiting for him to meet her eyes. "Especially about you not being his dad."

He'd rushed through telling her that part, so much so that he wasn't sure she had even heard him. But as usual, Paige could read him like a simplified textbook. "It was a factually correct statement. Ralph has a father."

"Ralph has…something." Paige did her best to hide it, but Walter still caught her eye roll. "But come on. You and I both know logic doesn't cut it here."

She wasn't wrong. When it came to the two of them, the genius often viewed things through a decidedly illogical lens. "I know what he said is true," he said, chewing on his lip. "B-But sometimes I wish otherwise."

Walter braced himself for her reaction. He supposed it wasn't a revolutionary idea, that he might want to fill that role for Ralph. But until the young genius shut him down, he hadn't realized how _much._

Paige cupped his chin in her hand, lifting his head and drawing him in for a slow kiss. She smiled against his lips, giving him another quick peck before pulling back. "I love that you feel that way," she said quietly, her hand traveling to rub his cheek. "I think you love him almost as much as I do, and I never thought that would be possible. You are that person for him in every way that counts, Walter. You gave him _more_ than his parents could. And Ralph knows that. Trust me, he knows that."

* * *

When the garage door creaked open and Walter heard two sets of footsteps, he was nearly overwhelmed by relief.

They'd agreed, as Paige was leaving to pick Ralph up from school, to return if the young genius was feeling up to it. Walter wanted to smooth things over, but he was reluctant to make the situation worse. And that was one thing he excelled at.

"Hi Walter," Ralph said hesitantly, coming to an abrupt stop in front of his desk. "Can I talk to you?"

He cast a glance over to Paige, who nodded and smiled encouragingly. Walter was sure they'd had a "talk" on the way and he didn't envy the young genius. "Sure." Most of the team was at a late lunch, but in case they came back soon, he decided to err on the side of privacy and led Ralph up the stairs to the loft. "How was school?" Walter asked to break the silence when they reached their destination.

"Fine." Ralph lingered near the door, his hands buried in his pockets. Walter couldn't remember things ever feeling so awkward between them…with the possible exception of the time he'd briefly fired Paige. "I'm s-sorry for what I said this morning."

Even if he wasn't sorry at all, Walter knew Paige would never let her son off the hook without apologizing. "It's okay."

"N-No. It isn't. I don't…" He pressed his lips together, staring at the floor. "I don't even know why I said that stuff. I didn't mean it. I know you and mom are trying to protect me. I still think you're both being overprotective, but I get it."

The genius inhaled, considering his response carefully. That still didn't mean it would be the right one. But his relationship with Ralph was changing and he needed to learn the proper way to approach these situations, preferably sooner than later. "I apologize if it seemed like…l-like I was trying to force myself into that role," he said finally. "I am here for you in any way you want me to be. Sometimes I will have to make decisions that affect you, and I know that's a transition. B-But I will try to be more respectful of your boundaries in the future."

"Thanks." Ralph lifted his eyes to meet Walter's, shifting his weight nervously. "But I didn't mean to make you think that I don't want you as my dad. I actually hoped that…one day…you might, um, consider adopting me."

Walter coughed, choking on absolutely nothing but his own surprise. When they came upstairs, that was the last thing he had expected Ralph to say. "You want me…to adopt you?" he said dumbly, repeating the words like maybe he'd heard them wrong.

The boy nodded.

"You know we don't have to, Ralph."

His face dropped slightly, and he shook his head, stammering as he backtracked. "Right. I mean you're still marrying my mom. I guess that's enough."

"No! That's n-not what I meant. Just…hold on." Walter kicked himself internally. He hadn't even considered how that would sound to Ralph. How did he consistently prove to be so _bad_ at this? "I meant that we're still a family, regardless. I don't want you to feel pressured in any way. Cabe has predominantly played that role in my life and it was never official, legally."

"The same Cabe you didn't talk to for a decade?"

"Okay. Maybe that was a bad example." Walter blew out a breath. Perhaps he should just start over and stop sabotaging himself. The answer was really quite simple. "Y-Yes."

Ralph squinted, looking confused. "Yes what?"

"Yes, I…want to adopt you," he said, quickly adding, "I can't promise anything yet. We still have to talk to your mom and Drew. It's a long process. But if you're asking if that's what I want too, then…yes. Of course it is."

The young genius stared at him for a long moment before breaking out into a wide grin that told Walter he'd finally said the right thing. "Cool."


End file.
